Here’s what Falcons coach Dan Quinn said after the 24-10 win over the Panthers on Sunday:
Opening statement. "I thought tonight in the locker room – just a good team win. Any time we get a chance in the division to get a win, those count. These two teams know each other. I thought today the turnover margin for us finishing at plus two and for us to have three takeaways in the red zone, that was certainly the difference. I certainly appreciate the fight of this team and a lot of love they have for one another. It shows about how hard they play for one another. I was glad to see over the last couple of weeks our turnover margin improve. I thought over the last few weeks our fight has matched our focus. Long drive in the early part – I thought it was off to a poor start, but in the second half on the first play, Matt (Ryan) connecting with (Calvin Ridley) was really the thing that set it off. As I said, good team win. The guys are excited for some of the players that had their first moments. First career interception for (Isaiah) Oliver, first career 100 yard game for (Brian) Hill, so for those two the team was excited. They know the work they put in with them. So all around good division win. Good team win."
On defensive play against Christian McCaffrey: "I think the takeaways in the red zone were the real key in this game because he's been a problem in a match-up way – man to man, zone. He had more in the run than we'd like for sure, but he's a difficult guy to corral and tackle. We knew that was a big factor in them coming in. I thought their quarterback showed a lot of fight today. We tried like hell to get after him, and he kept responding and fighting too. I thought two teams to clearly show they wanted to bring the fight today and it felt like a good, tough division game."
On the pass play to open third quarter: "I thought that was the thing that set off the second half for us. A good ball by Matt and obviously Cal being able to get on top is one of the things that makes him so unique. We count on those. We definitely have plenty of things and lessons to clean up from at the end of the game – how to finish. We showed some examples of how to do that and we showed some of how not to. All in all, I loved the fight of the guys."
On the play of Brian Hill: "He's been, all year, we've really remarked about his effort and his strain. I think you've probably seen on Friday's he's been the winner a number of times of the Tommy Nobis jersey, the black jersey in terms of the work that he puts in. He's improved as a ball player a lot, so for him to get his opportunity today and make the most of that, I think that's a big thing. As a ball player or athlete or as a coach missed opportunities are the ones that sting the most. For him to take advantage of that today says a lot about him."
Change to pass rush approach without Cam Newton: "I don't know if it changed any. We were still running around trying to corral the quarterback. I thought (Taylor) Heinicke did a good job of moving in the pocket and avoiding pressure. We thought we had some chances to get him. I didn't get a look at the one with Grady on the foul that they called for unnecessary roughness, but I'll get a chance to see that tomorrow. All in all, I thought that improvement has been taking place. Sometimes you've heard me say it's not the amount of sacks, but the amount of hits and movement that you get on the quarterback. I thought they did a good job generating that pressure today."
On Brian Hill finishing runs: "As a running back, especially with a guy with some size you want to let them know at the end of the run and that kind of finish, that kind of effort is important. We've got to do it with poise, but having that kind of finish at the end – it is part of our identity, our style and our toughness. That will always be the way we want to attack. We're a different team when our run game matches our play pass, so when we're able to run it like we want I think it adds to the overall toughness of team. Still lots to learn and clean up from, but I did like the way Brian finished on some runs today and Tevin (Coleman) as well."
On Matt Bosher's hit: "I think it brought a lot of energy to the sideline. All of his teammates know how tough he is, but when the hit happened today it was clearly one that got everyone excited. Sometimes you catch them just right. That's what it takes sometimes, but everybody knows how tough he is. To see that kind of hit today, I'm sure he'll have a highlight for himself for years to come, but it won't be talking about money."
On big offensive plays: "Usually we talk about two things as the differential and the first one is the turnover margin and if we can end up in the plus in that way we know our chances are better to keep giving our offense possessions. The second one is the explosive play differential, whether it's big plays in the run game or big plays in the pass game. When we hit on both of those we're generally pretty hard to deal with. The other side of that defensively, how do you get yourself into the plus in both of those? Well, you create turnovers and you get the ball out, which we were able to do in the red zone today and the second thing is you eliminate the big plays defensively. You stay on top, you're able to tackle better. All of those were part of it today. We had missed tackles, we had penalties that you want to clean up, but I love the fight and attitude of the guys today."
On the play of Calvin Ridley: "You know that we do. He's such a competitor. No one challenges himself more than he does. At the end of it, I was really pumped to see that. Any time you see him in the open field, you know they have some fast defensive backs, you have a chance to say he's going to go on this one, so don't try to juke the guy here. Put on the afterburners and see if they can catch him."
On the importance of finishing strong: "It's always important to finish. For us, there's a lot to play for in all sorts of ways. The teams don't carry over from year to year, but the lessons can. In every game we owe it to one another how hard we can play for each other. Just like there were some lessons learned today that will pay forward, there will be some in next week's game, too. Having division games at the end of the year, you wish like hell that this game today for both teams had more implications. That's the truth of it, but at the end of it playing division games is as much fun as you could think. The way you have to go battle for it. That's where we're at and we'll go fight like hell for it."
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